DIA bathroom is setting for Detroit Lives love story competing in online film contest

The main character in a short film by Detroit Lives is Harlan Ruddecksplainer, a bathroom attendant who seeks advice in courting the attendant across the hallway.

A quirky story of courtship set in a Detroit Institute of Arts bathroom? Why not, answers the creative agency Detroit Lives LLC in a six-minute film making the rounds online.

The film is the Detroit agency's entry in the Nokia Lumia Icon Challenge — which invited aspiring filmmakers to pitch stories, then gave five of them $10,000, three weeks and two Lumia Icon smartphones on which to film them.

Now, the five films are up for popular vote on Nokia's Facebook page. The winning film will receive a grand prize that includes further promotion in Nokia's national ad campaign for the new phone, which boasts a 20-megapixel camera and four microphones.

The basic plot of the film, according to Detroit Lives: "Harlan Ruddecksplainer is a fifth-generation bathroom attendant. His great-great-great-great-grandfather stood outside an outhouse with a bucket of water, and that level of Ruddecksplainer service continues today.

"In the face of flatulation and loud-mouth jerks, Harlan maintains his post with impeccable composure and sagelike words of wisdom. But what happens when the ladies room across the hall gets a cute new attendant? Without the luxury of 'a bathroom break,' Harlan will have to get crafty with his approach."

The film was shot on location inside two Detroit Film Theatre bathrooms inside the DIA. It features mostly Detroit-area actors, said Philip Lauri, Detroit Lives' founder and creative director.